Nov 10, 2015

The 240th Marine Corps birthday is November 10, 2015.Just some insight on what makes up our young Marines, past, present and future.

Happy Birthday Marines and friends!

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When God created a United States Marine, it was into the sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared and said, "You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?" And the Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order?"

"It has to be able to think independently, yet be able to take orders; have the qualities of both a military mind and a compassionate heart; be a leader of junior Marines and learn from seniors; run on black coffee; handle critical ops without a Military Procedure Manual; be able to manage a difficult subordinate, an irate supervisor and a demanding OIC; have the patience of a saint and six pairs of hands, not to mention the strength of three its size."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands - no way!" And the Lord answered, "Don't worry; we'll make other Marines to help. Besides, it's not the hands which are causing the problem. It's the heart. It must swell with pride when other Marines do well, sustain the incredible hardship of combat, beat on soundly when it's too tired to do so, and be strong enough to continue to carry on when he's given all he's had."

"Lord," said the angel touching the Lord's sleeve gently, "Come to bed!" "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something unique. Already I have one who can complete a 26-mile forced march with full pack, handle a 9mm and an M16 with astounding accuracy, conduct land navigation in the dark, and operate field communications."

The angel circled the model of the Marine very slowly. "It's too serious," she sighed. "But tough," said the Lord excitedly, "You cannot imagine what this Marine can do or endure." "Can it feel?" asked the angel. "Can it feel!" replied the Lord. "It loves the Corps and country like no other!"

Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the Marine's cheek. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you you're trying to put too much into this model." "That's not a leak," said the Lord. "That's a tear." "What's it for?" asked the angel. "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, frustration, pain, loneliness and pride." "You're a genius!" exclaimed the angel. The Lord looked at her somberly and replied, "I didn't put it there."

Nov 1, 2015

"In the Marine Corps, every man is a rifleman, but it seems the days of the full-length rifle with the USMC may be coming to a close. The M4 Carbine, pending approval by the commandant, will likely become the general issue weapon of the Corps, replacing the M16A4 for the infantry, Marine Corps Times reports:"

The M-4 is shorter and lighter. It is slightly less accurate at distance because the barrel is shorter.

I carried a weapon similar to the M-4 in Vietnam. The Marine Corps did not have this weapon. The rifle had been kicked off a shot up helicopter that had recovered an Army unit. My boss had gotten the weapon and he gave it to me when he left Vietnam. I carried it while in Vietnam and got a lot of attention from Marines who had not seen a weapon like this.Our unit was the last Marine ground unit to leave Vietnam in June 1971. They told us to turn in all of our weapons 36 hours before we were scheduled to leave. "Screw that", I thought, and kept the rifle just in case the bad guys decided to attack. I gave the weapon to an Army truck driver as I left to get on the freedom bird back to the world, thus returning the weapon to the Army. Wish I still had it. Wish I had a photo of the rifle - never occurred to me to take a picture.

I think this was the rifle - it looks like it - U.S. ASSAULT RIFLE SMG GAU - 5A/A 5.56MM S XM177 (Colt model 649) without the forward assist. Complete with 20-round detachable box magazine.